Art-Startz Revisited

Art-Startz 2 has tentatively been scheduled for October 30. I'm really looking forward to introducing our merry band of watercolor enthusiasts to the wonderful world of SHAPES. We'll be playing with simple fruit shapes and work to create compositions that will be the basis for our paintings. We'll even throw a little salt around just for fun.

Everlasting...well, almost

I'm very excited about a photography workshop I'm going to be taking later this month from Brooke Gatterman of Roxsey Photography. She does phenomenal work and I'm sure we're all hoping her talent and knowledge of pixels and shutter speed will magically transfer to us. You can check out her work at roxseyphotography.com.

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

After a hectic summer, I stole a couple of hours this weekend to work in my yard. I used to have time to garden and it was so therapeutic to get outside and putter around. My back wasn't too happy about the idea, but I pressed on. The 5 acres of what I call "elephant grass" (because it grows 10 feet tall if allowed to) was pressing in on all sides, but with my trusty weed-eater, I found the little patio of pavers I created several years ago, just before it started to rain. This aqua wooden box was certainly feeling neglected, but I love weathered surfaces and grabbed some of the Gravensteins I had picked earlier in the year and created a still life. The cloudy weather was the perfect condition for good pictures and gardening.

A Classy Class

Here they are, the faithful friends who ventured out for the first Art-Startz session. The watercolor paintings they produced were so wonderful. They were complete novices and were able to follow my example to complete unique paintings filled with expression and their own creative instincts. When they took the masking tape off, they were amazed at what a difference the crisp white border made in their paintings. Session two coming soon.

On a Lighter Note

For better or worse, I just finished a little "art-startz" of my own. How quickly my mind becomes lazy and I seem to forget how to paint.... as if I ever really knew before. I find that if I just sit down and "niggle" (translated to mean: apply paint to a given surface in a semi-orderly fashion), something will appear on the paper, which I'll either love or hate. Like they say, "It's easier to turn a moving vehicle." I just have to keep reminding myself to be brave enough to see what happens and MOVE.

Woodland Fairies

They grow up so fast. You can try to hold the moments in your heart, but they slip away. I fear this is a generation of children being abandoned by parents preoccupied with the technology of the day.... techno abandonment, I call it. In my generation, it was the father who sat behind the daily newspaper and never uttered an encouraging word to his children for years. Now it's parents who are texting, talking on cell phones or surfing the internet. There will be a price to pay for this "advancement". Please, look your children and grandchildren in the eyes and talk to them. They miss you, even though you're standing right next to them.

Keeping it simple

Coming off a week's vacation, during which I did more of what I usually do without the constraints of the 5:00 a.m. alarm clock, I feel refreshed and ready to paint up a storm. But alas, now I have to go back to work and time wrangling will be the order of the day. I'm not sure this little acrylic painting is done, but it's started, which is the real cool part.